Please Wake Up, I Can't Do This Without You
by LuvreadingR-I
Summary: Maura's thoughts after Jane has been injured.
1. Chapter 1

A nod to Tess Gerritsen and TNT: Thank you for creating these lovely characters that we love to play with at times.

* * *

I was there.

I saw it happen.

Has it really been over 4 days already? 96 hours. 5760 minutes.

It started as a typical day, well, as typical as can be in the BPD Homicide Division. I was performing an autopsy on a prostitute with bruise patterns similar to 2 other victims I performed autopsies on in the past two weeks. three weeks, three women. With this third murder, we had a serial killer to catch. Yes, I said we. Jane, Korsak and Frankie made me feel a part of their team, of their BPD family.

Jane was hovering as she always did when she needed work through her theories based on my findings.

"Maura, please tell me you have something that can help us nail this guy down."

"Jane, I expect the lab results back at any time. I asked to put a rush on it."

This victim differed from the other two by having skin under her fingernails, the other two did not. The MO for the other two victims included blunt trauma to the left side of their face, the bruise there showed the impression of a large human fist. Additional severe bruising along the torso of the victims and hand prints around their necks suggested cause of death due to suffocation caused by strangulation.

I leaned over the victim to point out the bruising on her head. "See here, Jane? This bruise on the other two victims was a clear impression of a fist, a direct hit. On this victim, the strike was not direct, it goes from the temple across the left side of the forehead."

"So, did he miscalculate? Maybe she ducked?"

I nod in agreement. I explain the comparisons the blood results and that this victim was clear of any drugs. I also point out the bruise located on the victim's wrist area. "Here is a clear hand print showing that she was grabbed, unlike the other two victims. Also, if you look at the bruising on the body? While it appears more extensive, they were postmortem."

"After she was dead?"

"Yes, Jane. Cause of Death is suffocation, due to strangulation same as the others, but before the beating in this instance."

Jane paces back and forth. "Even though this isn't exactly the same as the other two, I know it's the same guy. We have found each victim on Monday mornings, two weeks apart. Victim three is clean of any drugs, so does this mean she saw the perp, tried to avoid the first blow. This pisses off our perp, he grabs her, strangles her first, gets angrier because it's not going the way he wants it, so beats her body."

"That is a possible and plausible scenario, Jane. Victim three's reflexes could have been faster than the other two."

Kent interrupts us. "Dr. Isles, the lab has called to say that the results are in."

"Thank you, Kent." Jane and I go to the computer to pull up the results.

Jane punches the air with her fist when she sees there is a DNA match. She sits down at the computer to forward the results to Frankie. She pulls out her phone to call him.

"Frankie. Open your mail, we got a match. Find out where this guy is and let's go arrest this scumbag."

We read his convictions. In and out of prison since his teens, assault, aggravated assault, rape. Jane looks at me. "Wish us luck. Hopefully, we can get this creep off the streets today."

I try to give her a confident smile. "You'll bring him in, I have no doubts, just please be careful, Jane."

She gives me a lopsided grin. "Always." And she was gone.

I stayed busy with paperwork for the next few hours while the detectives researched where the perp now lived and worked since he was released from prison six months ago. Jane sent me a quick text to let me know she and Frankie, with a couple of patrolmen as backup, were headed to a car repair shop to find the perp. Vince sent me a text letting me know they were on the way back to headquarters with him in custody.

 _Vince: By the talk on the radio, Audet thought he was going to run out the back door, but bumped into two uniforms pointing their weapons at his face._

 _Me: Glad it went smoothly and they caught him. Thank you for letting me know._

For some reason, I felt more apprehensive than I normally did when Jane is out. My adrenal glands and other visceral sensations were flooding through my body. I'm sure Jane would tell me I was having a "gut feeling". I had decided to drop off some paperwork to Vince so I could be in the area when they came in.

I had perfect timing. I dropped off the report, Vince showed me a cute video of the antics of a kitten on a bed with two green apples. It did make me laugh. The doors opened and Jane and Frankie walked through followed by Audet and the two uniforms. Audet seemed complacent, so the two uniformed officers did not have tight grips on his arms, but I saw his eyes shift left and right when they went through the door frame. I opened my mouth to shout a warning, but everything happened so fast. Audet body slammed one officer into the wall, completely knocking the wind out of him. At the same time, he kicked out with his leg and connected with the other officer bringing him down. Audet turned to make a run out the door in the pandemonium he caused. Jane was slightly closer than Frankie, so tried to tackle Audet high to knock him over, but Audet was a solid man. He stumbled, but didn't fall. He tried to knock Jane off my slamming her into the door frame. Frankie made a flying tackle hitting Audet in the back of the knees finally taking him down. Other uniforms swarmed to help and took him away.

My heart beating fast, I rushed over with Vince to make sure Jane and Frankie were ok; they were giving each other high fives.

"Nice tackle, Frankie!"

Frankie grinned. "You hit 'em high, I'll hit them low."

I begin to examine Jane, but she tries to brush me off. "I'm fine, Maura."

I reach up to touch a swelling on her head. "Ouch!" She slaps my hands away.

"Jane, you really hit the doorframe hard with your head, I believe you should go to the hospital, you may have a concussion."

"Nah. I didn't hit that hard. I might get a headache." As she turned to walk away, she braced her hand against the wall.

"Jane! Are you alright?"

"Uh, I guess a little dizzy." She takes another step and slowly slides down the wall.

"Call 911!" I yell. I rush to Jane's side. Her eyes are open, but confused. She is trying to focus on me.

"Maur?" And she passes out.

I was there, and now I am here. In the hospital. By her bedside.

They rushed her in to perform MRI and CT scans on her head. The scans showed that she had some swelling of the brain, but luckily, no bleeding. The swelling was not severe enough to call for surgery. Jane would have been angry if her beautiful raven curls were shaved. The doctors decided to keep her in a medically induced coma for 2 days to give her brain time to heal itself.

The doctors stopped giving the medicine that is keeping her sedated and were now waiting for her to wake up. It has been 2 days. I check her charts if I ever leave the room, to make sure I haven't missed anything if I go home to shower or eat. I rarely leave her side. People must have noticed by now. My behavior is too devoted for even a best friend. I sit here every day, holding her hand, talking to her. If Angela and Frankie have not guessed the truth of my feelings by now, I would be amazed.

Frankie and Angela have just left for dinner. They will be back to say goodnight to you. I take my usual place and thread my fingers through yours and begin talking.

"Jane, you need to wake up. You need to wake up because I need to tell you how I feel about you. That I believe you feel the same way, but we've been doing a dance of avoidance for so long. Life is too short."

"You need to wake up because you have so much yet to accomplish. You are an excellent detective. You need to get back to work and get those 'scumbags' off our streets."

"You need to wake up because your family needs you."

"Jane, you need to wake up because I can't do this without you." I wipe a tear that trails down my cheek. I stand up to lean over to place a soft kiss on your lips before I sit back down as more tears leak from my eyes. I am about to let go of your hand to reach for a kleenix when I feel your hand squeeze mine. I look up to your face with excitement to see your eyes flicker open.

"Hey." Your voice is hoarse from dryness, but sounds like the finest music to my ears. I laugh with pure joy and wrap my arms around you.

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty!"

* * *

 **Hey everyone. What do you think? My first story that isn't happy fluff! This is based on a prompt that I found on Tumblr. Hope you enjoy it.**

 **I have already tweaked a couple of items. Thank you to the ones to point out you should always brain check after spell check!**


	2. Chapter 2

A nod to Tess Gerritsen and TNT: Thank you for creating these lovely characters that we love to play with at times. And a special shout out to Saving Hope.

* * *

I am here.

I know what happened and how I got here, but I don't know where I am. No, seriously, I don't know exactly where I am.

Has it only been 4 days? Really? Seems much longer.

The day was a typical day with a pissed off me waiting in the morgue for Maura to give me the answers I needed. I'm angry a lot. C'mon, I'm a homicide detective. The day I stop being pissed, the day I stop caring, I'll turn in my friggin' badge. This current case had just turned into a serial killer and I couldn't sit at my desk anymore.

"Maura, please tell me you have something that can help us nail this guy down."

Maura explained the differences of this victim to the other two. This woman had defense wounds and hopefully would provide us a lead in catching the killer. Kent let us know when the results were in. I remember feeling the adrenaline rush I always get when there is a DNA match. I had Maura forward the results to Frankie.

"Frankie. Open your mail, we got a match. Find out where this guy is and let's go arrest this scumbag."

We read his convictions. In and out of prison since his teens, assault, aggravated assault, rape. I look at Maura. "Wish us luck. Hopefully, we can get this creep off the streets today."

"You'll bring him in, I have no doubts, just please be careful, Jane."

I could see the concern in Maura's eyes and tried to reassure her. "Always."

The next few hours were crazy. Frankie and I processed an arrest warrant and coordinated a plan to find and bring this guy in. Based on the layout of the car repair shop and the possible avenues of escape, we had a couple of uniforms with us. I sent Maura a quick text to let her know we were headed out. Once there, I gave directions for our deployment.

"OK guys, if we could have you two stationed at the back door located right over there, Frankie and I will go in the front." I waited until they were in position and we proceeded into the repair shop.

"Ready, Frankie?" I am so proud of my little brother, he has grown into an impressive detective. I know he has my back, just as I have his, on assignments. We walked into the shop and showed our badges.

"Jane." Frankie tilted his head to indicate a man in the back that was watching us. Audet. When he saw that we noticed him, he quickly put his tools on the table and casually headed to the back door. We drew our weapons and headed after him. We found him, arms raised, in the door frame of the back door. The two uniforms, waiting outside, had their weapons trained on him. Frankie cuffed him and read him his rights.

Once back in our car, I let Vince know that the arrest went without a hitch and that we were headed back to the precinct.

Frankie blew a sigh of relief. "I like arrests like that, Jane."

I grinned at him. "No kidding, let's just hope interrogation goes as well."

Maybe we jinxed ourselves, because it all went downhill from there. The doors opened to the precinct and we walked through, followed by Audet and the two uniforms. All of a sudden, all hell broke body slammed one officer into the wall, completely knocking the wind out of him. At the same time, he kicked out with his leg and connected with the other officer's knee, bringing him down. Audet turned to make a run out the door in the pandemonium he caused. I was closer than Frankie, so made a high running tackle on Audet to knock him over, but Audet was a solid man. He stumbled, but didn't fall. He slammed me into the door frame. Frankie tackled Audet in the back of the knees finally taking him down. Other uniforms swarmed to help us and took him away.

I brushed myself off and gave Frankie a high five.

"Nice tackle, Frankie!"

Frankie grinned. "You hit 'em high, I'll hit them low."

Maura appeared by my side, trying to examine me. "I'm fine, Maura."

She reached up to touch a swelling on my head. "Ouch!" I slapped her hands away. With the adrenal leaving my body, my head begins to hurt.

"Jane, you really hit the doorframe hard with your head, I believe you should go to the hospital, you may have a concussion."

"Nah. I didn't hit that hard. I might get a headache." I turn to head toward interrogation, but started to feel dizzy. I braced her hand against the wall.

"Jane! Are you alright?" Maura sounds far away.

"Uh, I guess a little dizzy." I took another step and slowly slid down the wall.

Maura was by my side. I heard her shout. "Call 911!"

I remember her getting blurry. I wanted to tell her to stay with me, but only managed her name. "Maur?"

I woke in a hospital room, confused. I remember that my head didn't hurt and I heard voices in the hall. I carefully swung my legs off the side of the bed and slowly stood up as Maura and a doctor entered. They were looking at the clipboard, having a very serious discussion, and didn't notice me at first.

"Hey. I'm feeling fine. Can you sign me outta this place?"

They ignored me. They looked to the bed and I heard the doctor say, "We're going to keep her sedated, in a medically induced coma, to give the brain swelling more time to go down."

Confused, I looked behind me and saw myself on the bed. I stumbled back. "What the fu..! What's going on?"

I watched as Maura finished her discussion with the doctor and came to sit by the me in the bed. She took my hand, "Don't worry, Jane, you will wake up soon. You have the top neurologist in the hospital. If you don't wake up soon, I will bring in the top neurologist of the country."

I looked down at my own hand and didn't feel anything. I walked over to the bed to poke myself. I didn't wake up and I didn't feel anything. I looked at all the machines and contraptions hooked to me. Nothing helping with my breathing, good. There's my heartbeat, good. I followed the leads from my head to another monitor - squiggly lines, so anything that's not a flat line must be good.

I spent some of my time wandering around the hospital, seeing the daily drama that happened. When things were too depressing I visited the nursery, I swear that the babies could see me. I waved at them. "Hey there, can you see me?" I made a funny face and the baby laughed. Then it happened, someone spoke to me.

"Yes, the can see us for some reason." I whipped around and there was a guy in a baseball uniform.

"You can see me?"

"Yup."

"Where are we? Do you know what's going on?"

The young man pushed back is baseball cap to reveal light brown hair. "Well, as far as I know, we're both stable, but in comas. I got hit in the head with the ball when I was trying to steal second. Knocked me out cold. They had to operate on me to releave some of the pressure caused by bleeding. I'm in the room 2 down from you."

I was so happy fo have found someone to talk to! "So, I was right, I'm not dead."

"Nope, follow me." We walked around the corner and looked in another room. "See this guy?"

I looked in the room. A big man was in the bed, his head wrapped in bandages, a woman by his side crying. The man was also standing on the other side of the bed, arms crossed over a leather biker's vest. He nodded at us.

We walked away. "That guy is dead. Motorcycle accident, no helment, so brain activity. He's just waiting for his wife to pull the plug."

I looked over my shoulder at the monitors surrounding his bed. There it was, a monitor showing a flat line. I shivered.

Baseball guy held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Rick."

I shook his hand. "Jane."

"I see my girlfriend going into my room, so I'm heading back there."

"Hey, Rick. Good luck."

Rick nods at me. "You too, Jane."

The rest of the time, I hang out in my room while I have visitors. When Ma visits, she sits and knits and I get the family gossip. Yesterday, she told me how she has a 'nice Italian man' for me to meet. She has told him all about me. In her vision, I'm going to meet this guy, fall in love, leave the force to have nice Italian babies with this man and cook for him. Oh, and she will be moving into the in-law-apartment. I stood by my bed self, yelling at myself to wake up before Ma has the wedding invitations printed.

Frankie visits also. Most of the time with Ma. He fills me in on the sports teams. He's ok.

My favorite visitor is Maura. She always looks so put together and beautiful, even if she has just come from the morgue. She sits by my side, holding my hand, massaging it. Reading to me, ok, so, it's one of her medical journals, but she has a nice reading voice. She will tell me about the antics of Jo and Bass and I smile. I feel calm when she is with me.

Tonight, Frankie has just left the room to get coffee. Ma has my hand and is patting it.

"You know, Janie. I fully expect you to wake up. Yes, I do. My Janie is too stubborn to die like this, so you are going to get better. And I hope you learn your lesson from this. Maybe it's time to find another job that's not quite so dangerous….."

I stop my pacing when I hear this. Yes, I tend to pace a lot when Ma visits. I thought this visit was going well until this point.

"Aw, c'mon, Ma. You know the force is my life. I'm not leaving it because of a little bump on my head! Sheesh, I get hurt worse playing basketball or flag football with Frankie!" I'm waving my arms around when Frankie walks back in, coffee cup in hand. "You tell her, Frankie!" I slap myself on the forehead, forgetting, again, that they can't hear me.

"What was that, Ma?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just telling your sister that maybe it's time she finds another line of work that isn't quite so dangerous."

Frankie actually snorts. "Yeah, right, Ma. Jane lives to be a detective and she's a damn good one!"

Ma flips her hair. "Hrmph. I know that Frankie. I just want her safe. Both of you."

Frankie sits down and takes her hand. "Ma. Its me and Janie you're talking about. Even if we have 'safe' jobs, we're going to play tag football at Thanksgiving or Basketball on any Sunday dinner and get hurt worse than she is now. You know that!"

I look at my brother as I watch my mother nod. "Thank you, Frankie! That's what I was trying to tell her."

A short while later, Maura walks in. She looks a little stressed tonight, maybe a tough day at work. Ma and Frankie say that they are going out to dinner and would be back to say goodnight. You sit down beside me and thread your fingers through mine. You stroke my hand. I see tears glistening in your eyes. You begin to speak.

"Jane, you need to wake up. You need to wake up because I need to tell you how I feel about you. That I believe you feel the same way, but we've been doing a dance of avoidance for so long. Life is too short."

My heart begins to pound while I listen to her. Am I hearing her correctly? Is she voicing the feelings I have buried deep in my heart?

"You need to wake up because you have so much yet to accomplish. You are an excellent detective. You need to get back to work and get those 'scumbags' off our streets."

"You need to wake up because your family needs you."

"Jane, you need to wake up because I can't do this without you." She wipes a tear that trails down her cheek. She stands up to lean over to place a soft kiss on my lips before she sits back down. I see more tears leak from her eyes and I reach out to touch her…..

"Hey." My voice is hoarse from dryness. You laugh and throw your arms around me.

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty!" My eyes widen as I realize that you heard me, felt my touch.

I know exactly where I am.

I am here.

* * *

Hi everyone. Thanks for the reviews. Chapter 3 is already in the works! Hugs to everyone!


	3. Chapter 3

A nod to Tess Gerritsen and TNT: Thank you for creating these lovely characters that we love to play with at times.

* * *

Jane tries to speak again, but her throat is too try. She points to it and makes a drinking motion with her hand.

"Of course, Jane! Here, let me help you." Maura pour water into the cup on Jane's bedside tray. She rips off the paper of a straw to put it in the water. Maura carefully holds it to Jane's lips.

"Just a little, Jane. We don't want to upset your stomach."

Maura reaches over to press the nurse's call button.

"Yes? Can we help you?"

"Yes, this is Dr. Isles. Detective Rizzoli is awake."

"Thank you, Dr. Isles. We will notify her doctor and a nurse will be right in."

Angela and Frankie walk in to see Jane sipping from the cup. Angela throws her arms in the air. "Janie!" She pulls Jane to her and envelops Jane in a bear hug. Frankie grabs Jane's cup before the water is spilled on the bed. Everyone is touching Jane and asking her how she feels.

The nurse walks into utter pandemonium. "Whoa! Ok, everyone out for 5 minutes!"

"But, I'm her mother!"

"Out!"

Frankie opens his mouth, but decides the better course of action would be to listen to the nurse. It may help if he wanted to ask her for a date, he thought she was pretty cute.

Maura smiles at the nurse. "I'm Dr. Isles, I would like to stay during your examination."

"Are you her doctor?"

Maura looks uncomfortable. "Well, no."

"Then you need to step out also."

Jane grabs Maura's hand. "Stay." She clears her throat. "She is staying. She _is_ my doctor." She raises her eyebrow in challenge to the nurse. The nurse takes it in stride, she doesn't want to irritate a patient that has just come out of a medically sustained coma.

The next few minutes are spent taking Jane's blood pressure, pulse, listening to her heart and lungs, checking pupil reaction to light. All this is written down for the doctor that has just walked in.

"Well, good evening, Jane. You are looking better then when I last saw you." He sticks out his hand. "I'm Dr. Basal, your neurologist. I'm very glad I was on night rounds today." All this time, Dr. Basal is reading her chart and doing his own exam.

"I feel great, can I go home?"

Dr. Basal laughs. "I think we will keep you in here for one more night, at the very least, for observation."

Jane is disgruntled with this news. And hungry. "Can I get a cheeseburger?"

The doctor laughs again. "I like you, Jane. It's a good sign that you have your appetite back, but I think we're going to start re-introducing food to your stomach on a lighter fare." He nods to the nurse. "Make sure to get some broth and jello up here as soon as possible. Jane, if this settles well, we'll make sure you have a more substantial breakfast." He looks at the family gathered in the doorway. "No sneaking in outside food, no matter how much she bullies you!" Angela nods.

A short while later, Jane sits back and enjoys her lime jello, listening to her mother and brother fill her in on everything she has missed while being in a coma. Little did they realize, but Jane still remembers everything. She wonders if it will all fade away, like a dream, but for right now, she enjoying the interaction. Maura offers to spend the night, but Jane insists that she goes home, and get a good night sleep.

After a morning of tests and breakfast, Dr. Basal agrees Jane can go home, with the stipulation that someone will be with her. Angela jumps up. "Oh, I can stay with her in her apartment!"

Maura sees the panicked look in Jane's eyes. "Angela, I have a better idea. I know I have food at my house, unlike Jane's apartment, why doesn't Jane stay in the spare room at my place and you can visit her whenever you want? Jo Friday is still at my house."

Angela nods. "You do have a better kitchen, Maura. I'll make your favorite dinner tonight, Janie."

Dr. Basal clears his throat. "Now that is all settled, I do have some guidelines you must follow, Jane. You have a concussion. Knowing what your job is, you will take a week off of work." He holds up his hand when Jane tries to argue. "Would you rather stay in the hospital? I didn't think so. No texting, limit television. I want you to get both physical and cognitive rest. Do you understand?"

"No texting? How will I communicate?" Jane is pouting.

"Call, talk, no texting." Dr. Basal signs the discharge paper. "I will see you next Friday to reassess you and possibly ok you going back to work." He shakes Jane's hand and leaves the room.

Jane puts her jacket on and feels a buzz in her pocket. She takes out her phone and sees a text notification. She opens it.

 _Frankie: Don't read this. Ur not supposed to text._

Jane looks over at Frankie sniggering. She walks over and punches him in the shoulder. Frankie flinches and rubs his numb shoulder.

"Ow! I hate when you give me dead arm."

"Well, stop being an asshole!"

Angela gets very flustered and slaps Frankie. "Leave your sister alone, she's got a brain injury!" Jane sticks her tongue out at her brother. Maura rolls her eyes. She knows that Jane will be an unruly patient.

Frankie heads back to the precinct, so that leaves the three ladies alone for dinner. Maura pulls Angela aside to stress the need for a quiet, calm dinner. Angela looks shocked that she needs to be told. "Of, course I can be quiet."

"No topics that will stress Jane."

"What? I wouldn't do that. What topic would I bring up that would stress her?"

Maura sighs. "Angela, you can't talk about how dangerous her job is….."

"But it is! She is injured because of her job!"

Maura raises her eyebrow, but continues her list. "And no talk about setting her up on blind dates."

"She does need to settle down with a good man, but fine. We'll talk about the weather."

Maura reaches over to pat Angela's hand. "You know she's going to be a challenge, Angela. Thank you for any help to keep her calm."

"Hrmph. Don't I know it. You shoulda seen the trouble I had keeping her quiet when she sprained her wrist as a kid!"

Dinner is successful with all three ladies enjoying the meal and keeping the atmosphere calm. Angela helps Maura clean up, then kisses Jane goodnight on her cheek. "Don't stay up too late, Janie."

Jane rolls her eyes. "I've done nothing BUT sleep for like 4 days, Ma." She sees her mother about to argue, so holds up a hand. "Don't worry, when I get tired, I promise to go to bed." Angela nods and says goodnight to Maura. Jane walks to the living room, lounges on the couch and turns on the television. Maura follows Jane, picks up the remote to turn the television off and turns some soft music instead.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"The doctor said no television for at least another day or so." Jane becomes disgruntled and puts on a pouty face. Maura sighs. "Come back into the dining room." A sulky Jane follows her back.

"What are we going to do?"

"I picked up a puzzle on my way to the hospital today."

"Seriously? A puzzle? Like flowers, or cute kittens or puppies?" Jane is making a face.

Maura puts the box on the table. "Fenway Park."

"Ohhhh." Jane's eyes light up as she sits down. They spend an enjoyable hour separating out the outside frame pieces to put together.

Maura covertly observes Jane for any sign of fatigue. She has an internal battle within herself concerning asking Jane a question, but curiosity and worry win out.

"Jane?"

"Hmmm?" Jane is sorting through puzzle pieces.

"Could I ask you a question?"

The tone of Maura's voice captures Jane's attention. She sits back in her chair to look at Maura. "Anything."

Maura lowers her eyes for a moment, second guessing herself. She looks Jane in the eye. "I was wondering, were you aware of your surroundings when you were in the coma?" Maura swallows and tries to sound as if she is doing medical research. "Did you hear what was being said to you?"

Jane keeps her face blank. She wonders if Maura is regretting saying that they both care more for each other than each of them admit. Is it time to move forward? She looks down at the puzzle pieces and moves them randomly around. "It's strange, Maura. Sometimes it was like a dream and I don't know what was real and what wasn't. Other times, I was right there. I tried to talk to you, let you know I was ok, answer you." Jane looks down again and decided to give Maura a window of escape. "Did I dream that we need to talk about something we have both been avoiding?" She raises her eyes to look at Maura.

Maura slowly smiles. "It was no dream, Jane. I promised myself that if you came out of your coma, I would address the way I feel about you. If you don't feel the same way, I will honor those feelings and we will continue the way we are, but I think we could be so much more."

Jane nods but looks back down at the puzzle pieces. "What if we fail as a couple? That would suck."

Maura raises an eyebrow. "But if we succeed, I think it will be spectacular."

"I agree. So, what do we do now? Should we kiss to make sure we like the way the other kisses?"

Maura smiles seductively at Jane. "I think that is a very practical suggestion, Jane." Maura's hips sway as she walks toward Jane. Jane feels butterflies in her stomach. She stands up and Maura slowly slides her arms around Jane's neck. Jane puts her hands on Maura's hips and pulls her closer. Their lips slowly touch. Tongues gently enter each other's mouths to explore new delights, hearts pound. Maura shakily pulls back. She looks into Jane's face. "Does that sufficiently answer your question?"

Jane's eyes are sparkling. She begins to bend down to answer the question with further, more in depth exploration of Maura's delicious lips. She is confused when Maura gently, but firmly pushes her away.

"Wha?"

"As hard as this is for me to stop, I know I will get carried away and want to ravish your body."

Jane gives her a devilish grin. "I don't see a problem with that."

Maura sighs. "Your concussion? You are under restricted physical activity, Jane. No sex." She see Jane begin to pout and it is so cute. "This is ok, Jane. Let's take it slow as a couple."

Jane sits back down. "Ok, like dating?"

"Dating would be very nice."

Jane ponders this for a few moments. They already went out to eat, mostly at the Dirty Robber, so she thought of how she could change it up to make it more of a date. Different places, Maura's preferences, bring flowers. She could do this. She nods.

"Can we fool around tonight? Make out on the couch?"

Maura laughs. "Do you think we could stop?"

"Maaaaybe. Well, noooooo. Ok, can we cuddle in bed? I am an invalid and I don't think I should sleep alone. I could relapse into a coma!" Jane has a comical panicked expression on her face.

Maura laughs gayly. She tries for a stern face. "Well, as your doctor, Detective Rizzoli, I most certainly offer my services to ensure your well being and will provide bedside care this evening."

Jane grins at their silliness. They put together a few more pieces before going to bed. Maura settles into bed on her side, facing Jane. Jane pats her shoulder. "Come here."

"Are you sure you aren't too sore?"

"Nah." As Maura gets comfortable on Jane's shoulder, Jane wraps her arm around Maura's back and rests her other hand on top of Maura's hand curled on her chest. They both breathe contented sighs and drift off to dreams of a future together.

* * *

Hey everyone! Thank you for the kind reviews and PMs. I hope this wrapped up the story nicely. Working on a next chapter for my Life is a Musical series - it will be steamy (maybe sex with a little story thrown in lol) Send me prompts for other stories you may want!

Hugs to all!


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